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CSU Rams post 26th consecutive home win, defeating Wyoming 65-46

By Christopher DempseyThe Denver Post

Posted:
02/02/2013 07:22:10 PM MST

Updated:
02/02/2013 10:50:04 PM MST

Nothing changes with coach Larry Eustachy's Colorado State Rams. Not ever. Defense gets played. Rebounds are grabbed. And yes, of course, wins are earned. They are a freight train at Moby Arena, and so far most teams have been steamrolled trying to stop them.

Wyoming found this out Saturday. Colorado State used a 13-0 run spanning the end of the first half and the beginning of the second to help put the Cowboys away 65-46 before a raucous, sellout crowd of 8,745.

It was the third straight victory for CSU (18-4, 5-2 Mountain West), which has won five of its last six and maintained its position of second place in league play. The win bumped CSU's home win streak to 26 straight, which now qualifies for the third-longest streak in the nation after Kansas had its 33-game streak snapped in a loss to Oklahoma State earlier Saturday.

This CSU team is the fastest to 18 wins in school history, and it got there by placing five players in double-figure scoring in addition to playing tougher for longer and answering every Wyoming run.

The Rams got out to a 14-6 lead using an 11-3 run. They punished Wyoming in the paint all day, and forward Pierce Hornung and center Colton Iverson got CSU established by scoring 11 of its first 14 points. CSU scored 16 of its first 21 points in the paint.

Meanwhile, Wyoming (15-6, 2-6), which started this season 13-0 and has gone 2-5 since, was held to two field goals in its first 11 shots and didn't get a basket inside the 3-point line until 9:28 remained in the first half.

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The Rams' defense against Wyoming's leading scorer, Leonard Washington, was superb at the start and good all day. He was held to 4-of-12 shooting from the field for just nine points, five below his average.

"He's a big, strong guy that can really drive the ball," Hornung said. "So you just have to limit his catches as much as you can. You can't let him catch the ball. because he's a playmaker."

Wyoming went on a 15-6 run that got them right back into the game, down just two at 23-21 late in the first half.

That's when Daniel Bejarano made an impact.

Bejarano is a sophomore transfer from Arizona who ranks third on the team in rebounding. When the Rams needed some "fight back," he provided it. He scored all seven of the CSU's points in the final 3:25 of the first half and added three rebounds.

Bejarano's diving on the floor for loose balls and willingness to rebound everything anywhere in his vicinity helped Colorado State gain back some semblance of control going into halftime.

"I was just trying to bring everything out there," Bejarano said. "Once my number is called, everyone expects me to do what I do best. That's what I was trying to do — hustle plays and defense, rebounding."

The second half was about maintenance. Though Wyoming's Derrious Gilmore went berserk in the second half, scoring 18 of his game-high 26 points, he couldn't get the Cowboys back within real striking distance. CSU closed the game on a 15-4 run.

Not all kids who play baseball are uniformed with fancy script across their chests, traveling to $1,000 instructional camps and drilled how to properly hit the cut-off man. Some kids just play to play.